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Fees for impounded pets set to increase at animal shelter

View SlideshowRequest to buy this photoTom Dodge | DispatchNiko, a 16-year-old dog, is picked up from the Franklin County animal shelter by Kristin Lopp, her son Cayden, 4, and daughter Kaitlyn, 2. The county’s commissioners are considering raising the shelter’s fees to help cover a $2.1 million shortfall.

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The cost to reclaim a lost pet from the Franklin County animal shelter would more than triple
next year under new fees that county commissioners are expected to adopt today.

Earlier this year, the commissioners asked county budget officials to study the costs of the
shelter’s operations because the county plans to cover a shortfall at the shelter of more than $2.1
million.

The completed study recommends a package of price increases to the impounding and daily boarding
cost charged to pet owners whose animals are picked up by animal-control officers.

• The fee to reclaim an impounded animal would rise from $6 for a neutered or spayed pet to $20,
and from $18 for a non-neutered or spayed pet to $40.

• The daily boarding fee for impounded pets would rise from $1.50 a day for a neutered or spayed
pet and $4.50 a day for a non-neutered or spayed pet to a flat $20-a-day fee.

• The annual fee to license a dog would rise from $12 for a neutered or spayed pet to $18, and
from $24 for a non-neutered or spayed pet to $35.

• The cost to license a dog for less than a full year would rise from $6 to $9.

The county shelter still would lose money at the new prices, the study concludes, but the new
fees would raise an additional $869,600 for shelter operations — reducing the subsidy needed from
the county’s general fund.

The impounding and boarding fees were last changed in 1996. Director Joe Rock said it costs
about $47 a day to take care of a dog at the shelter, and about $181 each time a dog is
impounded.

Rock said he doesn’t think the new fees will cause anyone to abandon their pets at the shelter,
and he hopes they will prevent some owners from using the animal shelter as a cheap boarding
service. Unlike a private boarder, the shelter bears the responsibility and cost of any needed
medical treatment for the animal, he said.

“It sends a message to dog owners that it’s a responsibility to own a pet, and it’s a
responsibility we want them to take seriously,” Rock said.

The changes could lead to sticker shock for some pet owners, with the average cost to reclaim a
lost dog that is neutered or spayed jumping from less than $10 to more than $64, and from $25 to
about $72 for non-neutered or spayed animals.

Kellie Difrischia, director of Columbus Dog Connection, a rescue group, said she applauds the
fee increases, but she doesn’t think they go far enough for non-spayed or neutered animals.

“These are the dogs that get loose because they’re looking for a mate, and the rest of the
county’s taxpayers are bearing the burden, to care for the animals and their unwanted litters,
Difrischia said.

More than $630,000 of the new money would come from increasing the cost of an annual dog license
for spayed and neutered pets, which make up most of the licensed animals in Franklin County.

The $6 increase in the license fee also would bump the cost of adopting a dog from $117 to $123
for a dog younger than 5 years. That’s because a new dog license is included with every adopted
pet. The $67 fee to adopt an older dog would climb to $73.

William Flaherty, a deputy county administrator, said the intent of the proposed changes is to
provide for the long-term financial health of the shelter.

“The goal is to have the resources to be able to provide the services to help keep neighborhoods
safe from stray dogs while still being able to reunite owners with lost dogs,” he said.

If adopted, the fee changes would take effect on Jan 1.

By law, the county commissioners must hold a public hearing before they can consider raising
animal-shelter fees. That hearing will be held during the commissioners’ regular weekly business
meeting, which starts at 9 a.m. today at the county’s general session room on the 26th floor of the
county courthouse building at 375 S. High St.